An agricultural harvester such as a combine includes a head and a feeder housing which remove the crop material from the field, gather the crop material and transport the crop material to a separator. In the case of thinner stemmed crops such as soybeans, wheat, etc. which may be cut with a sickle bar carrying a plurality of knives, the head may also be known as a cutting platform. The separator removes the grain crop material from the non-grain crop material. The grain is cleaned and deposited in a grain tank. When the grain tank becomes full, an unloading auger which is positioned alongside the combine during harvesting is moved to the unloading position in which the auger extends approximately perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the combine. The combine drives alongside a vehicle into which the grain is to be unloaded, such as a semi-trailer, and the unloading auger is actuated to discharge the grain into the vehicle.
A cutting platform may generally be of two types. One type typically has a sheet metal floor with a dual feed auger near the rear of the cutting platform for feeding the crop material longitudinally to the feeder housing. A cutting platform of this type with auger feed is more common.
Another type of cutting platform, also known as a draper platform, utilizes a flat, wide belt, referred to as a draper or draper belt to convey crop material. The arrangement and number of belts vary among platforms. One style of draper platform has two side belts that convey crop material longitudinally, to the center of the platform, where a center feed belt moves the crop material laterally into the feeder housing. Each belt is wrapped around a pair of rollers, one being a drive roller and the other being an idler roller. An example of this type draper arrangement is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,202,397, which is assigned to the assignee of the present invention.
An advantage of a draper platform is that larger amounts of crop material can be transported without plugging, etc. For example, with wide platforms approaching 40 feet or even larger, the amount of crop material transported to the feeder housing can be substantial. With an auger feed platform, the crop material may bind between the auger and the back wall of the platform. In contrast, with a draper platform, the crop material is carried on top of the belt with less chance for plugging.
With a draper platform as described above, it is typically necessary to use an endless belt in the form of a flat belt with two opposite ends which are fastened together using an external mechanical device and appropriate fasteners. This requires that the bottom run of the endless loop formed by the belt be threaded through the framework and carrier elements, pulled taught, and then fastened together. This process can be difficult and time consuming.
What is needed in the art is a draper platform which allows the belts on the one or more platform sections to be installed faster and easier.